Intergovernmental organisations in conflict
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Question
What is an IGO?
Answer
An intergovernmental organisation — a body set up by states to work together, such as the UN or a regional bloc.
Question
What do IGOs do in conflict?
Answer
The UN and regional bodies authorise action, deploy peacekeepers, mediate, impose sanctions and coordinate humanitarian aid.
Question
What is the UN Security Council?
Answer
The UN's most powerful body, which can authorise sanctions or the use of force to address threats to peace.
Question
What is the Security Council veto?
Answer
The power of each of the five permanent members to block any Security Council action single-handedly.
Question
Why is the UN's legitimacy important in conflict?
Answer
Collective action authorised by the UN is more widely accepted than one state acting alone, making intervention and peacekeeping more legitimate.
Question
Why is the UN dependent on states?
Answer
It has no army of its own, so it relies on member states for troops, money and consent, and can only act as far as states allow.
Question
What are examples of regional IGOs that act on conflict?
Answer
The African Union (AU), European Union (EU), ASEAN and NATO, which can carry out regional peacekeeping and mediation.
Question
Why is the UN's record in conflict described as 'mixed'?
Answer
It has clear successes (peacekeeping, mediation, aid) but also failures where the veto paralysed it or missions were under-resourced.
Question
What reforms are proposed for the UN?
Answer
Expanding the Security Council, limiting the veto in cases of atrocity, and better-resourcing peacekeeping so it can act more consistently.
Question
Why does the UN still matter despite its flaws?
Answer
It is the only near-universal security forum, provides legitimacy, and runs peacekeeping and aid that save lives — so its flaws argue for reform, not abolition.
Question
What is a balanced view of IGOs in conflict?
Answer
They are indispensable but conditional — effective when great powers back them, weak when blocked — so most conclude they need reform.
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Topic 4.2 hub
Actors and parties in conflict
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